Mayor To Help Make Lauderdale Shine

FORT LAUDERDALE — Mayor Robert Dressler will have a new job for four hours this fall. His employer will be the highest bidder at an auction Monday.

The auction kicks off the Make It Shine campaign -- a volunteer effort to prepare Fort Lauderdale for its 75th anniversary in March 1986.

``The Mayor for Four Hours`` is one of about 20 projects to be ``on sale`` at the auction, which will be at 5:30 p.m. at the Tower Club.

``We`re asking every business, organization, club and individual to donate four hours of their time, materials or money to the city,`` said Anne Joyner, an administrative assistant in the city manager`s office. ``They can bid on entire projects or parts of projects.``

Some of the projects that will be up for bids are painting, tiling and landscaping the six Tarpon River Bridges; a city-wide cleanup day; crime prevention with the Citizens Alert Crime Alert Program; decorating the downtown area for the holidays; remodeling the Third Avenue bridge; and painting a mural on the Holiday Park Activity Center.

Joyner said the purpose of the campaign is to make Fort Lauderdale ``shine`` and to re-introduce the city`s ``hometown pride and spirit.``

``You hear people complain that nobody`s ever from around here,`` she said. ``We want to create an atmosphere for everybody -- for the people who live here, vacation here, work here and play here. An easy way to do this, and a fun way, is by volunteer work.

``You may ask why the tax money doesn`t pay for these things, but because we have lower taxes than cities of comparable size, we have to ask the public for some help.``

The campaign will run through March, and all volunteers will receive a T- shirt, she said.

The details of the auction and the rest of the campaign will be presented to the City Commission today .

City Commissioner John Rodstrom Jr. said, jokingly, that he will bid to have the mayor at his disposal for four hours, but added, ``I`ll do whatever they need me to do.``

``We`ll all do our part,`` he said. ``When we get everybody out to work, it will be great.``

The goal is to complete about 75 projects by March, said Joyner, who added that Fort Lauderdale will apply for the All American Cities Award next year, ``when all the projects are done.``

Joyner said the city manager`s office is still accepting proposals for projects.

``You might see that old wall of a city building that needs repairs on your way to work every day, and that`s the thing we want to hear about,`` she said.